An Update: Updated!

An earlier post edited with birthday photos added...

It's a cloudy rainy day and I haven't written in 2 weeks! I've been up to a lot though, so here's an update for my 3 whole readers.

Kitchen Countertops
Amazing! Blogger has not been cooperative with image upload here in Cherryville. However, since I'm staying in to work on lesson plans and such today, hopefully I'll have enough patience to fight with it longer than usual. Anyway, the kitchen looks fabulous but the photos won't do it justice I'm sure.

Birthday Activities
Johnathan and my parents and I went to Boone to cook out on the parkway so we could spend some part of the weekend with my brother and Cameon. There are some hilarious photos to be seen! On my birthday we had a band thing but grilled out at mom's afterward. Lots of fun!
Stevie firing up the grill on the parkway



Cameon LOVES her some Little Debbies


This is my birthday cake. The "candle" is the grill lighter. Someone forgot the real ones!


After lunch, a scuffle ensued between Wes and Cameon. They are so funny! Even though Wes is much bigger than his girlfriend, I think she bested him this time.
Yes, that's Christmas underwear peaking through the shorts!!


Beach Trip
Our trip to the beach with my family occurred over our 1st wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful dinner together and enjoyed being alone on our vacation for a while. Our trip ended earlier than we expected but we had fun while we were there.

New Job
I have unloaded my classroom stuff into my new room. It's exciting! I'm really looking forward to meeting new students and teaching juniors in addition to the 9th and 10th grade classes. Good things are happening! Band is also rolling along with meetings and rehearsals.

New light fixtures are hung in the living room and Johnathan and I finally have a ceiling fan in our room! Photos posted soon!

Birthday Shenanigans

I have not dropped off the planet...birthday weekend was a blast and I will edit this post with photos when blogger decides to cooperate again. My portfolio for NWP is due on Thursday and marching band season has begun so my free time has dwindled to almost none. I shall return!

Fun in the Sun! Part 2

Here are a few more shots of Harbourtown and the Hilton Head Island Light





My lovely hostess and me and the water. We had a great time together and I miss her already!



We also went to the Salty Dog Cafe on South Beach (also on the Island). We were in search of t-shirts but found SO much more! This is Jake, the original Salty Dog.


We ventured on to Savannah in search of Paula Dean's house and then the mall. Again, one objective leads to an even better find.






There's an amazing bridge from South Carolina to Georgia. And once we got onto River Street, it was beautiful everywhere we looked!


A view of Savannah from the bridge



How GORGEOUS is this riverboat?!

One of the most interesting places we saw in downtown was the Savannah Candy Kitchen. John Deere Green taffy was being pulled.


There was lots of shopping and we found so many neat things! We never found Paula Dean's restaurant and we almost missed the mall entirely due to navigating difficulties and that it closed at 9 and we didn't make it until 8:30.



However....

We did manage to find a Bojangles. There isn't one anywhere near Ashley's apartment or her work or anywhere on Hilton Head Island! It took a trek to GEORGIA to find one, but after our long day it was the BEST Bojangles ever!

A wonderful trip to a beautiful place.

Fun in the Sun! Part 1

Blogger is presently only allowing me to do so much with it. So I will be posting in segments. Enjoy!!

This past weekend I went to Hilton Head, SC to visit with my friend Ashley. We met in college and have managed to stay in touch in the last few years. Since it's summer, it was time to make it down to visit her!



Ashley works at the local newspaper, The Island Packet. She's a copy editor and page designer. Basically, she has a really cool job.





Friday I spent most of the day shopping at the Tanger Outlet centers while Ashley worked. When she got home we got all dressed up to go to this bar we saw in the newspaper. We quickly learned a lesson about judging the bar by it's name.




Clearly we were thinking Martini's would be a sophisticated classy piano-type bar. We were sadly mistaken.




We ended up at the Outback down the street from this joint. We had one drink and went home. How sad...but it was such a good adventure!

Saturday, we headed out to do the tourist thing. There's a great lighthouse on Hilton Head Island, so Harbourtown was our first stop.




Of course even the shops there were incredible! The yacht club is situated in the center and the boats were beyond belief. We were told one boat required 120 gallons per hour to run!!

A New Adventure Ahead!

Tomorrow (Thursday) I am heading from Writing Project at UNCC to Hilton Head, SC to spend the weekend with my friend Ashley. Rest assured my camera is packed! Here's to a great trip to the beach!

While I am away, new kitchen counters will appear (so I'm hearing). Check back and see how they look!

Details and Demolition

A few more details in the master bathroom make it totally FINISHED! I am so excited about having a full room in the house completed!!



A much anticipated towel ring makes this space look like we live in it. This shows a better picture of the light fixture also.



The rug matches our blue towels. The cabinet has been stained and I added new knobs to the doors and drawers.


And what's a gorgeous bathroom without a great shower curtain? This shower curtain is from Bed Bath and Beyond



I dressed up the dining area with some drapes from Target



Demolition has begun on the kitchen counters!



testing out the glue


the tile we have for the counter is not what's being "tested"



The counters had a 1inch face that we removed around the edges. The formica on top will be removed as well. Good things are happening!!

NWP is Consuming my Life!

That pretty much sums it up. I have done more writing and exploring and talking about theory in the last 4 days than I have since graduate school. So far during the institute I have realized that I really miss being in school, and starting the MA in Curriculum and Instruction has a new freshness after this first week. I have met some really incredible writers/thinkers/teachers who are just as excited about the classroom and its possibilities as I am. This is shaping up to be a great experience! I may get brave and start sharing some of my writing here as the Institute continues.

We had dinner tonight with Johnathan's mother and he helped hook up a computer. Sometimes it's nice to have a tech guy in the house. Speaking of the house, Steve came and stained the cabinets in the master bath so that's the last of the installation/labor stuff. Hooray!

Our new project in the house will be the counter tops in the kitchen. We have a tile that is a black/white/gray granite type finish that we want to accent with a black glazed backsplash. Pictures will be posted as soon as we get started. I can't wait!